Container and sealing cap assembly filled with an aqueous comestible



Aprxl 2l, 1964 w. E. TAYLOR ETAL 3,130,056

CONTAINER AND SEALING CAP ASSEMBLY FILLED WITH AN QUEOUS COMESTIBLE Filed July e, 1961 United States Patent O 3,130,056 CNTAINER AND SEALING CAP ASSEMLY TlLLED WITH AN AQUEOUS COMESTBLE William Edward rIajflor, Fairiield, Conn., Arthur Leroy Hart, Cary, Ill., and Carl William Heinle, Short Hills, NJ., assinors to American Can Company, New York, NX., a corporation of New Jersey Filed July 6, 1961, Ser. No. 122,190 14 Claims. (Cl. 99-171) The present invention relates to a container and sealing cap assembly and has particular reference to such an assembly for packaging products maintained under pressure.

An object of the instant invention is to provide a container and sealing cap assembly for products maintained under pressure such as beer, carbonated beverages, coee, etc., in which the sealing cap is tightly maintained in closing position against blow-off and yet may be readily removed without tools.

Another object is to provide such an assembly for a wide mouthed container, so that the container, if desired, may be used to drink from directly.

Another object is to provide a U beam shaped anchor for the sealing cap to reinforce the cap against blow-olf from the container.

Another object is to provide a unique hook-like anchorage for the sealing cap to insure against blow-off of the cap under the pressure within the container.

Another object is the provision of such a container and sealing cap assembly in which the sealing cap is made of a soft tearable material and is provided with tearing means to facilitate removal without the use of tools.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE l is a perspective view of the upper portion of a container and sealing cap assembly embodying the instant invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are enlarged sectional views taken substantially along planes indicated by the lines 2-2, 3 3

in FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of a sealing cap used in the assembly shown in FIGS. l, 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a blank from which the sealing cap shown in FIG. 4 is made;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the sealing cap after removal from a container;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 4 and showing a modified form of the sealing cap; and

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a blank from which the sealing cap in FIG. 7 is made.

As a preferred and exemplary embodiment of the instant invention the drawings show a container and seal ing cap assembly, designed for packaging beer and carbonated beverages although the invention is equally well adapted for use with other products maintained under pressure.

The assembly comprises a container 11 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) and a sealing cap 12 (see also FIG. 4).

The container 11 preferably is made of ceramic material, such as glass, and comprises a body 14 having a neck 15 terminating in a wide, open dispensing or drinking mouth 16, although the invention is equally well adapted to other mouthed containers. By way of example, the mouth 16 has a diameter of approximately one and one-quarter inches which sets off an area relatively large for beer containers in which the product is maintained at substantially 140 pounds per square inch.

The neck 15 of the container is iinished with an annular, cap retaining bead 18 (FIGS. 2 and 3) which surrounds the mouth 16 and which is formed with a flat top face 19 and an outwardly and downwardly tapered annular outer face 21. The lower edge of the outer face Z1 terminates in a sharp annular corner 22 which joins with an annular undercut face 23. The outer face 21 and the undercut face 23 are disposed relative to each other at an included angle of less than a right angle to provide an acute angled hook ledge 24 for the cap 12 as will be hereinafter explained.

Below the cap retaining bead 18, the iinish of the container includes an annular auxiliary bead 26 which is disposed in spaced relation to the retaining bead 1S and which is utilized to facilitate crimping of the sealing cap 12 in place during the container closing operation. This auxiliary bead 26 preferably is sharp cut and preferably comprises upper and lower, annular, outwardly converging tapered faces 27, 28 which terminate in a vertical annular outer face 29, thus giving the bead 26 in effect an annular frusto-conical contour.

Between the retaining bead 18 and the auxiliary bead 26, the undercut face 23 of the bead 18 and the upper face 27 of the bead 26, define a U-shaped channel 31 having substantially straight diverging sides and a iiat bottom joining the sides in relatively sharp corners as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. This bead finish on the container is designed to retain the sealing cap 12 in place against blow-off under the pressure of the product which inthe case of beer is excessively high (substantially 140 pounds per square inch as mentioned above).

The sealing cap 12 preferably is made of a soft easily tearable material, such as aluminum, and embodies novel reenforcing features to hold it in place on the container under the pressure of the product as mentioned above. The cap 12 preferably is provided with an imperforate top wall section 33 which covers the mouth 16 of the container as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The cap top wall section 33 preferably is of a diameter slightly greater than the outside diameter of the top face 13 of the retaining bead 18. The outer edge of this top wall section 33 merges into a depending annular skirt wall section 34 which extends down adjacent the outer face 21 of ti e bead 13 preferably at an angle thereto as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and engages against the outer face 21 of the head 1S for at least a short distance above the sharp annular corner 22 and extends around this corner in close conformity thereto and merges into a continuing annular beam shaped holding ilange 35. The lower portion of the skirt wall section 34 and the continuing holding tiange 35 thereby form a hook-like anchor having an included angle of less than degrees to correspond with the included angle of the bead 18 to engage over and conform to the hook ledge 24 hereinbefore mentioned.

The U beam shaped holding ange 35 is tightly disposed in the channel 31 of the finish of the container and comprises a leg 37 engaging against and in close conformity with the undercut wall 23 of the retaining bead 18 and a leg 38 engaging against and in close conformity with the upper face 27 of the auxiliary bead 26. This U beam shaped holding flange 35 provides a reinforced hook auchorage under the hook ledge 24 for the sealing cap 12 and tightly holds the cap in place against blow-off due to the pressure of the product in the container.

A conventional compound sealing gasket 41 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is provided in the cap 12 and is disposed between the imperforate top Wall section 33 of the cap and the flat top face 19 of the container nish bead 18. 'Ihis gasket 41 extends down in the space between the tapered outer face 21 of the bead 18 and the angularly disposed A. 3 skirt wall section 34 of the cap, thereby providing a wedge shaped hermetic seal for the cap.

In order to provide against sticking of the compound tothe bead 18, the inside surface of the cap preferably is coated with a lining material which is compatible with the compound to produce a greater adhesion between the compound and the cap than between the compound and the bead. As one example of this combination, a vinyl lining material is used on the cap with a fused plastisol compound.

Since it is inevitable that some flexing of the cap top wall section 33 takes place under the pressure of the product in the container, the cap is designed to make use of this exing action. This is the reason for the enlarged diameter of the cap top wall section 33 and the compound gasket 41 between the cap skirt wall section 34 and the outer face 21 of the bead 18. When this exing action takes place the exing cap stretches the Ycompound tightly around and against the rounded outer or upper corner of the bead 18 and insures that a hermetic seal is made at this corner between the cap, its compound and the bead 18 of the container. It has been found that this seal is so effective that leakers are unknown.

The sealing cap 12 is provided with tearing means to facilitate removal of the cap as a unitary structure, from the container, in a one hand manual operation without the use of tools. One form of tearing means is disclosed in FIGS. 1, 4, 5 and 6. For this purpose the top wall section 33 of the cap 12 is provided with a pair of spaced and diverging score lines 45, 46 (FIG. 1) which at their widely spaced ends terminate substantially at the outer diameter of the top wall section 33. At their narrowly spaced ends, the score lines 45, 46 extend down along the skirt wall section 34 at converging angles and terminate in a tearing tongue 47 (FIG. l).

The score lines 45, 46 preferably are disposed on the inner face of the cap 12 in order to obtain maximum strength of the top wall section 33 under outward exing or bulging of this wall section under the pressure of the product in the container. With the score lines inside the cap, the bulging top wall section tends to draw the sides of the score lines toward each other and therefore makes them stronger pressurewise. Also for some unknown reason the diverging score lines have been found to give greater strength pressurewise to the cap, although the invention also contemplates the use of parallel score lines as well as diverging score lines.

It has been found that if the tongue 47 is made as a simple continuation of the skirt wall section 34 of the cap 12, it is extremely diicult to tear through the U beam shaped holding ange 35. This holding flange 35 apparently is so rigid and strong, even in an aluminum cap, that the tongue usually tears off at the beginning of the tearing action. To overcome this difliculty, the lower leg 38 of the U beam shaped holding ange 35 is dispensed with, as shown in FIG. 3, in the formation of the cap. For this purpose, the cap 12 is made from a blank 51 (FIG. 5) which along the major portion of its circumference is a substantially true circle. At the tearing tongue portion of the blank, i.e., on both sides of the tongue 47 for a short distance, the true outer circumference of the blank iscut back or relieved as at portions 52 and terminate in notches 53 which are part of a narrow section 54 connecting the tongue 47 to the blank.

When the blank 51 is subjected to a cap drawing operation, a cap 56 results as shown in FIG. 4. This cap 56 comprises the imperforate flat top wall section 33 of the cap 12 and a connecting depending skirt Wall section 57 of which the skirt wall section 34 is a part. In this cap 56 the skirt 57 is shorter at the portions 55 adjacent the tongue 47 as shown in FIG. 4 and the notches 53 are closed by a crowding of the skirt wall against the edges of the tongue portion 54 thereby producing cut through but closed slits 59. This leaves the score lines 45, 46 terminating substantially in line with the sides of the narrow neck 54 of the tongue 47.

In closing the container 11, the preformed and gasket lined cap 56 is applied to the container over its mouth 16, with the cap skirt 57 disposed adjacent the container finish beads 18, 26. In this initial position of the cap 56 the skirt 57 straddles the channel 31 between the beads, and the lower terminal edge of the skirt is disposed immediately adjacent the upper tapered face 27 of the auxiliary bead 26, or slightly overlapping the outer face 29 of the bead, depending upon the ultimate desired length of the lower leg 38 of the holding flange 35.

With the cap 56 in this position, its skirt 57 is pressed or crimped into the channel 31 to reform the skirt into the U beam shaped holding flange 35 to firmly hold the cap in place against blow-olf as explained above. This crimping action preferably is effected by a roller. During this crimping action, the lower marginal edge portion of the cap skirt 57 is progressively wiped against and across the upper tapered face 27 of the auxiliary bead 26 to provide for a smooth and unwrinkled bending of the skirt material into the formation of the U beam shaped holding flange 35. Thus the auxiliary bead 26 serves as an anvil or guide during the cap skirt reformation and this is the primary purpose of the bead.

Since the portions 52 of the skirt 57 are shorter than the other portions of the skirt, the lower leg 38 of the U beam shaped holding flange 35 is omitted adjacent the neck 54 of the tongue 47 and hence the rigidity of the holding flange 35 is slightly reduced at this section and he neck 54 is crimped-in to take the place of the omitted Hence when it is desired to remove the cap 12 from the container, it is merely necessary to pull the tongue 47 outwardly to remove the crimped-in-neck portion 54 from the channel 31 and then pull it upwardly to remove the cap. This action properly starts the tearing action along the score lines 45, 46 and results in sufcient tearing back of the material of the top wall section of the cap to release the cap from the container as a unitary structure as shown in FIG. 6, by a mere manual one hand operation and without the use of tools.

In the modified form of the sealing cap 12 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the cap top wall section 33 is provided with parallel score lines 61, 62 which set off between them a removable area 63 which terminates in a tearing tongue 64 which projects beyond the skirt wall section of the cap.

In this modified form of the sealing cap the shortening of the skirt wall section immediately adjacent the tearing tongue 64 is provided by a pair of extra large notches 66.

This modified cap preferably is made from a flat blank 67 (FIG. 8) which is subjected to a drawing operation to produce the primary or unfinished cap member shown in FIG. 7 having a surrounding skirt 68 and the tongue 64 and the adjacently disposed notches 66. This cap is fitted with the compound gasket hereinbefore mentioned in connection with the preferred form of the cap, and is then loosely applied to the container and clinched in place as in the preferred form of cap.

The notches 66 are so proportioned in width and height as to cause the edges of the U beam shaped holding flange 35 adjacent the tearing tongue 64 to be disposed in spaced relation to the tongue as shown in FIG. 7 and to cause the top edges of the notches to terminate at least at the bottom edge of the vertical or connecting leg of the holding ange 35 as shown at 55 in FIG. 3.

Hence at the notches 66, the lower leg 38 of the U beam shaped holding flange 35 is terminated adjacent the tongue 64 as in the preferred form of the cap and thus the rigidity of the holding flange 35 is similarly reduced at this section and the tongue 64 is crimped-in to take the place of the omitted leg 38 as in the preferred form of cap. Hence removal of this modified form of cap may be effected in the same manner as in the preferred form of cap.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

We claim:

1. A sealed package comprising a container having a dispensing mouth, a sealing cap on said dispensing mouth, and a liquid comestible in said container maintained at a pressure substantially above atmospheric pressure, said container having an annular bead surrounding said dispensing mouth, said bead having an upper face, an outer face, a rounded corner joining said upper and outer faces, and a lower face disposed relative to said outer face at an included angle which is less than a right angle to provide an acute angled hook ledge, said sealing cap being formed of thin sheet material which is readily deformable by the pressure of said comestible, said sealing cap having a normally at top wall section, a depending annular skirt section integral with said top wall section, and a continuing U-shaped holding section having a leg engaging against said lower face of said bead to provide an anchorage under said hook ledge for said cap against blow-olf of said cap by the pressure in said container, a sealing gasket disposed between said top wall section and said upper face of said bead and continuing between said skirt section and said outer face of said bead, said sealing cap having tear means to facilitate removal of said cap from said container, said top wall section of said cap being bulged and expanded outwardly from its normally fiat configuration by the pressure within said container, thereby exerting a substantial radially inward force on said skirt section adjacent said rounded corner of said bead whereby said gasket is compressed between said cap and said bead to eect a tight hermetic seal between said cap and said bead.

2. The package set forth in claim 1 wherein said upper and outer faces of said bead are disposed relative to each other at an included angle which is greater than a right angle.

3. The package set forth in claim l wherein said liquid comestible is a beer.

4. The package set forth in claim 1 wherein said liquid comestible is a carbonated beverage.

5. The package set forth in claim 1 wherein said tear means comprises a pair of spaced score lines disposed in the top wall section of said cap and extending into said skirt section to define a removable area therebetween, and a manually engageable pull tab integral with said removable area whereby said removable area may be separated from said cap to release the cap from the container.

6. The package set forth in claim 5 wherein said U- shaped holding section comprises a leg opposite to said rst mentioned leg, and wherein said cap is provided with cut through slits in said holding section adjacent said tab, said slits extending through said opposite leg of said holding section and forming continuations of said score lines.

7. A container and tearable sealing cap assembly, comprising a container having a dispensing mouth, a liquid comestible maintained under pressure within said container, an annular bead surrounding said container mouth said bead having a top face, an annular outer face and an annular undercut face joined in a sharp annular corner, a sealing cap of an easily tearable metal on said mouth, said sealing cap having a top wall section, an annular skirt comprising an outwardly and downwardly tapered wall section and a downwardly continuing annular U beamshaped holding flange having an upper leg merging with said tapered wall section along said sharp annular bead corner and a lower leg spaced below said upper leg, with said upper leg and said tapered wall section engaging against and in close conformity with their respective undercut and tapered faces of said bead and providing a reinforced anchorage inwardly of said annular bead corner for said cap against blow-off thereof by pressure within the container, sealing means between said bead and said cap, a pair of spaced score lines disposed in the top wall section of said cap and extending into said cap skirt wall section and setting off between them a removable area, and a pull tongue formed integral with said removable area for tearing said area away from said cap for releasing said cap from said container, said pull tongue being disposed closely adjacent said U beam-shaped holding ange and being separated from said lower leg of said holding flange on both sides by cut portions extending from said score lines.

S. A container and tearable sealing cap assembly of the character deiined in claim 7 wherein each of said cut portions is defined by the edges of a notch cut in said skirt wall section adjacent each side of said pull tongue, each notch extending across said lower leg of said U beamshaped holding flange and deiining a terminal end of said lower leg of said holding ange disposed in spaced relation to said tongue.

9. A container and tearable sealing cap assembly of the character dened in claim 7 wherein each of said cut portions is defined by the edges of a slit cut in said skirt Wall section adjacent each side of said pull tongue, each slit extending across said lower leg of said U beam-shaped holding ange and deiining a terminal end of said lower leg of said holding flange extending substantially entirely up to said tongue.

10. A container and tearable sealing cap assembly of the character dened in claim 7 wherein said score lines at their ends remote from said tongue, terminate short of said cap holding flange to facilitate removal of said cap as a unitary structure while holding said tongue.

1l. A container and tearable sealing cap assembly of the character defined in claim 7 wherein said score lines extend from said pull tongue in diverging relation.

12. A container and sealing cap assembly of the character defined in claim 7 wherein said container is provided with an auxiliary annular bead disposed adjacent said first mentioned annular bead in spaced relation thereto, said auxiliary bead having a at tapered upper face and defining with said undercut face of said first mentioned bead an annular U-shaped channel having relatively sharp connecting corners, and wherein said cap holding ange is disposed in said channel and is in close tight fitting conformity with said bead undercut face and said auxiliary bead at tapered upper face.

13. A container and sealing cap assembly of the charatcer defined in claim 12 wherein a portion of said pull tongue is disposed in said U-shaped channel and forms a separable portion of said U beam-shaped holding flange of said cap, and wherein said cut portions extend into said U-shaped channel across said iiat tapered upper face of the auxiliary bead.

14. A container and sealing cap assembly of the character deiined in claim 7 wherein opposed portions of said cap skirt and bead outer face above said engaged cap wall section and bead outer face diverge leaving a wedge shaped space therebetween, and wherein said sealing means comprises a sealing gasket which is interposed between the cap top wall section and the bead at top face and continues in wedge shape in said space between the cap skirt wall section and the outer face of said bead.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,605,685 Mock NOV. 2, 1926 2,096,428 Hogg et al Oct. 19, 1937 2,406,568 Sebell Aug. 27, 1946 2,709,019 Powell May 24, 1955 

1. A SEALED PACKAGE COMPRISING A CONTAINER HAVING A DISPENSING MOUTH, A SEALING CAP ON SAID DISPERSING MOUTH, AND A LIQUID COMESTIBLE IN SAID CONTAINER MAINTAINED AT A PRESSURE SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE, SAID CONTAINER HAVING AN ANNULAR BEAD SURROUNDING SIAD DISPENSING MOUTH, SAID BEAD HAVING AN UPPER FACE, AN OUTER FACE, A ROUNDED CORNER JOINING SAID UPPER AND OUTER FACES, AND A LOWER FACE DISPOSED RELATIVE TO SAID OUTER FACE AT AN INCLUDED ANGLE WHICH IS LESS THAN A RIGHT ANGLE TO PROVIDE AN ACUTE ANGLED HOOK LEDGE, SAID SEALING CAP BEING FORMED OF THIN SHEET MATERIAL WHICH IS READILY DEFORMABLE BY THE PRESSURE OF SAID COMESTIBLE, SAID SEALING CAP HAVING A NORMALLY FLAT TOP WALL SECTION, A DEPENDING ANNULAR SKIRT SECTION INTEGRAL WITH SAID TOP WALL SECTION, AND A CONTINUING U-SHAPED HOLDING SECTION HAVING A LEG ENGAGING AGAINST SAID LOWER FACE OF SAID BEAD TO PROVIDE AN ANCHORAGE UNDER SAID HOOK LEDGE FOR SAID CAP AGAINST BLOW-OFF OF SAID CAP BY THE PRESSURE IN SAID CONTAINER, A SEALING GASKET DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID TOP WALL SECTION AND SAID UPPER FACE OF SAID BEAD AND CONTINUING BETWEEN SAID SKIRT SECTION AND SAID OUTER FACE OF SAID BEAD, SAID SEALING CAP HAVING TEAR MEANS TO FACILITATE REMOVAL OF SAID CAP FROM SAID CONTAINER, SAID TOP WALL SECTION OF SAID CAP BEING BULGED AND EXPANDED OUTWARDLY FROM ITS NORMALLY FLAT CONFIGURATION BY THE PRESSURE WITHIN SAID CONTAINER, THEREBY EXERTING A SUBSTANTIAL RADIALLY INWARD FORCE ON SAID SKIRT SECTION ADJACENT SAID ROUNDED CORNER OF SAID BEAD WHEREBY SAID GASKET IS COMPRESSED BETWEEN SAID CAP AND SAID BEAD TO EFFECT A TIGHT HERMETIC SEAL BETWEEN SAID CAP AND SAID BEAD. 